Parent Notes

Course: Biochemistry

Lesson: Week 1

Time Allotment: 1 hour

Materials:

• Slides
• Ziploc Bag
• 1 Spoon of Salt
• 2 Strawberries
• 2 Spoons of detergent
• ½ Cup of water
• 2 Plastic cups
• 1 Coffee filter
• ½ Cup of cold rubbing alcohol
• 1 Stir rod

Instructions:

Slide 3:

• Nucleic Acids are essentially how information is stored and transferred in a cell
• They are molecules within the body that store information & tell the body how to build proteins
• Nucleic acids code your genes, they are used in protein synthesis, repair, and reproduction

Slide 4:

• Nucleotides are the basic building block of both DNA & RNA

• Which we will discuss more on the following slides

• There are 3 parts to the nucleotide:

• Phosphate group
• Sugar Molecule → Ribose & Deoxyribose

• These are 5 carbon sugars, that look like pentagons

• One of the four bases, which varies between the nucleic acids

Slide 5:

• DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, using deoxyribose, sugar molecule
• RNA: Ribonucleic acid, using ribose, sugar molecule
• Differences between both:

• The different type of sugar molecule
• Different base

• Uracil vs. Thymine → this will be discussed in one of the following slides

• RNA has 1 strand and DNA has 2 strands

• DNA is often associated with the classification of a double helix

Slide 6:

• Define what a nucleus is

• The nucleus is a pivotal part of the cell responsible for regulating almost all forms of cellular activities

• Show where both of them are located in the picture presented on the slide

Slide 7:

• Different Bases

• RNA

• Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, & Uracil

• DNA

• Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, & Uracil

• Purines = 2 rings, meaning that there are 2 hexagons connected together
• Pyrimidines = 1 ring, nothing attached to the hexagon

Slide 8:

• Pairing Rules

• RNA

• Adenine binds to Uracil
• Guanine binds to Cytosine

• DNA

• Adenine binds to Thymine
• Guanine binds to Cytosine

• Ask them if they know how these bases connect to the nucleic acid

• Through hydrogen bonds

• Pairing occurs in a nucleic acid strand or between nucleic acid strands

Slide 9-12:

• Complete the experiment using the materials mentioned above and on slide 9

Slide 13-14:

• Relate back to everything that was learned in this lesson including:

• The nucleus being affected
• How the proteins impact the DNA
• Solubility
• And more!